South Africa: Statement on misrepresentation of President’s affidavit in load shedding case

South Africa: Statement on misrepresentation of President’s affidavit in load shedding case

The Presidency is aware of several media reports that have presented a gross misrepresentation of statements made by President Cyril Ramaphosa in an affidavit submitted in a court case, brought by the United Democratic Movement (UDM) and others, in respect of the current electricity crisis.

The statement in the affidavit that has been misrepresented relates to the constitutional powers and responsibilities of the President and other Government bodies. It seeks to clarify important legal issues about what is contained in and what is required by the Constitution.

This statement does not in any way diminish the commitment of President Ramaphosa and this Government to end load shedding as a matter of urgency.

Indeed, since taking office in 2018, President Ramaphosa has undertaken far-reaching measures to resolve an electricity crisis that stretches back more than a decade. These include:

- Reviving the renewable energy procurement programme, which has resulted in the addition of over 2,000 MW to the grid to date, and signing project agreements for a further 2,800 MW of projects from bid windows 5 and 6 of the programme.

- Removing the licensing threshold for embedded electricity projects and streamlining of regulatory processes, with the result that there are now more than 100 projects